“Do you think the jaguar will attack it, Naylor?” whispered Brazier.
“Yes, sir; they’re nasty spiteful creatures, and can’t bear to see anything enjoying itself. There’s room in the tree for both of them, and you’d think that with the flood underneath they’d be content to wait there in peace till it was gone. But if the snake would the tiger won’t let him: he’s waiting for a chance to take him unawares, and so not get caught in his coils, but I don’t think he’ll get that this time. My word! Look!”
For as he was speaking the jaguar seemed to be shot from the bough, to strike the serpent on the side of the head, which it seized just at the thinnest part of the neck, and held on, tearing the while so fiercely with its hind claws that the reptile’s throat was in a few moments all in ribbons, which streamed with blood. The weight of the jaguar, too, bore down the serpent, in spite of its enormous strength, and it appeared as if victory was certain for the quadruped; but even as Rob thought this, and rejoiced at the destruction of so repellent a monster, the serpent’s folds moved rapidly, as if it were writhing its last in agony, and the next instant those who watched the struggle saw that the jaguar, in spite of its activity, was enveloped in the terrible embrace. There was a strange crushing sound, a yell that made Rob’s fingers go toward his ears, and then a rapid movement, and the water was splashed over where they sat.
For the tree was vacant, and beneath it the flood was being churned up in a curious way, which indicated that the struggle was going on beneath the surface. Then a fold of the serpent rose for a moment or two, disappeared, and was followed by the creature’s tail. This latter darted out for an instant, quivered in the air, and then was snatched back, making the water hiss.
During the next five minutes the little party in the tree sat watching the water where they had last seen it disturbed; but it had gradually settled down again, and, for aught they could tell to the contrary, their two enemies had died in each other’s embrace.
But this was not so; for all at once Shaddy uttered an ejaculation, and pointed along the edge of the submerged trees, to where something was moving about in the bright morning’s light.
It was right where the beams of the freshly risen sun gilded the rippling water, sending forth such flashes of light that it was hard to distinguish what it was. But directly after, there, before them, swimming slowly and laboriously, in undulatory motion, was the serpent, which they watched till it passed in among the branches of the submerged trees and disappeared.
“Then the tiger was killed?” cried Rob, excitedly.
“Yes, sir; I thought it was all over with him when the snake made those half hitches about his corpus and I heard his bones crack. Ah! it’s wonderful what power those long sarpentiny creatures have. Why, I’ve known an eel at home, when I was a boy, twist itself up in a regular knot that was as hard and close as could be, and that strong it was astonishing.”
“But surely that serpent can’t live?” said Brazier.